A Coquitlam-based woman who uses a wheelchair was left waiting for an accessible taxi for three hours on Canada Day. After this experience, Merle Smith, is calling for more enforcement of BC\’s transportation laws.

Smith, 70, has been a disability rights advocate since she become quadriplegic when she was 14. She says she was evaluating the Canada Day event for the city to make sure it met accessibility needs like ramps and adequate seating.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart was at the event and noticed Smith waiting – in the rain – and tried to help her. Stewart said 15% of the taxi fleet in Coquitlam must be accessible and whenever a taxi company has applied to expand its fleet, the city has requested that it include more accessible vehicles, too. By 12:30am (after the initial call at 8:30pm) Merle\’s taxi finally arrived. Stewart even shared his views and the story on social media.

Stewart and Smith are calling on the Passenger Transportation Board to enforce its requirements.

CVS supports an initiative to increase accessibility across the community, including taxi services. We hope that Mayor Stewart and Merle Smith are successful in their plight to make taxi services more accessible across our community.

For more information on this story, please read the original CBC article here.

As we head into a warmer time of year, we wanted to remind you again of the importance of taking care in the summer. Sunnier days typically brings warmer temperatures and a decline in air quality .

Remember that during times of extreme heat, it is important to take extra precaution to prevent heat-related illness, particularly for those who may be more vulnerable to these conditions such as the elderly, people on certain medications and those with respiratory conditions.

At Community Ventures Society, we hope that everyone takes the time to ensure that individuals who are being supported understand how to recognize that they may be overheating and how to prevent this from happening.

Consider the following –

• Never leave anyone alone in a car
• Stay in the shade when possible
• Drink plenty of fluids
• Wear lighter clothing, hats and sunglasses
• Close curtains during the daytime to block the sun
• Open windows to promote air circulation
• Use fans to promote a cross breeze in rooms
• Apply sunscreen when spending time outdoors

These preventative measures are fairly standard in terms of managing care during the summer months. CVS and all of its staff are committed to taking these extra precautions to ensure that the proper safeguards are in place to reduce the incidence of heat related illness.

To keep a close eye on weather warnings across BC please click here.

Enjoy the summer & let\’s all stay safe while enjoying these sunnier days!

Two articles published last week highlighted a need for improved support and services for children with special needs and autism.

On June 21st, News 1130 published an article about the reality of shortages facing families with special needs students in Surrey. Parents of special needs students reflected on how the shortage of teachers in BC has translated into fewer hours of individual assistance for their kids. For many students with autism, there is a lack of Educational Assistants (EA) assigned, leaving students in a position where they are not fully supported for educational success. Additionally, there has been a lack of consistency with workers and many are being pulled in different directions and unable to give the focus that\’s needed to support the student.  For its part, the Surrey school district says it has 3,000 special needs students, and that parents who are unhappy with their kids’ education plan can appeal.

A day later, on June 22nd, the Surrey Now-Leader published a story noting that an estimated 40 parents wearing “Team Maya” T-shirts attended a Surrey school board meeting last week. Their purpose? To ask for support worker “continuity” for children with autism and other disabilities. Team Maya was started by Nicole Kaler, a mother of a daughter named Maya who has autism. Kaler filed a Human Rights Tribunal complaint against the Surrey School District and CUPE 728 last year. She said it resulted in her daughter receiving the support Kaler wanted, but that it inspired her to help other parents fight for “systemic change.” Kaler said the issue boils down to some children with disabilities receiving new support workers too often, and the disruption in their care and education that results in. Asked what the school district would do after the parents’ turned out in force to the June 20 board meeting, Strachan said they will each have their individual questions answered. If the school district and CUPE 728 don’t make a change, Kaler said parents are organizing to file further Human Rights complaints. For more on this story, please click here.

CVS believes in the importance of offering the right level of support for the individual. We hope that the concerns expressed by parents are taken seriously by the school district and positive change is taken to improve the level of care for these students.

The Family Support Institute of BC is offering a free PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope) for individuals and youth eligible for CLBC supports. If you or a loved one, fall into that category, please check out the poster below and get in touch with Valerie Irving at Family Support Institute of BC.

We want to spotlight a wonderful article written by Paul Sawka, discussing the challenges many individuals with disabilities face when looking for a job. He highlights 3 areas in particular – (1) getting the right training & education; (2) finding someone to hire them; and (3) finding the perfect support at work.

Paul provides his insight based on his own experience and offers some suggestions to those who are looking to find a job and get employed. Take the time to read the article, to learn from Paul and his experiences.

As Paul says, we just need the chance to prove ourselves and then, the doors of the working world become a lot more open.